Advice on best budget mains

[KennyBradley]

Hi,

I’ve been following a few of the audio forums for a couple of months now looking for a suitable project. I’m looking to build the best pair of mains I can for about $200 (xovers & drivers) and something I can enjoy for a long time.

I am certainly no audiophile and neither is my equipment (Sony av amp). They will be used for movies and music (rock, country, pop). I like a strong bass and smooth treble. The biggest problem with my current set up is either the amp or the room acoustics make music sound quite bright so I hope someone can advise me on something warm and smooth sounding with enough bass to fill a large room.

The options I have found so far are:

RS150MTM http://www.eldamar.net/audio/rs150mtm/

DB616TL http://users.d-web.com/dbrown/db616tl2/db616tl2.htm

DAYTON8 http://www.wadsnet.com/~dtenney/dayton_8MTM.htm

DAYTON3 http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...ayton_iii.html

JUBILEES http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...ilee/index.htm

RS225/RS28A http://206.13.113.199/ncdiyaudio/mar...ence_rs225.htm

Apologies if this is an old question, any advice will be much appreciated.

Cheers Kenny

[Landroval]

I have no personal experience on any of these, but I'd probably go for the RS225/RS28 design. Highest quality drivers and a design that pleases me, big bass driver for low excursion, sealed enclosure for low group delay and low x-over point (and a tweeter that can take it) out of the sensitive 2-5kHz range.

One nice option would be Zaph's Seas all-metal design:
http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker17.html

[castlesteve]

Kenny. How about trying a pair of Wayne J`s Veritas. These are large main towers with that big smooth sound that you are looking for. If you find those too large then the Lyra is a similar speaker with just one 10" bass driver. These both have good reviews and a lot of people have built them.

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/veritas.htm

Good luck with yor project, Steve.

http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_fi...a/lyramain.htm

[castlesteve]

P.S. Here is a tweeter substitution page that takes the price down a little to stay in line with your budget.

Cheers, Steve.

http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_fi...tas/verhps.htm

[pinkmouse]

Have a look at the IPL acoustics site. Its a UK site, with some nice kits there, and Ivan is very good with helping new builders.

[Nemophyle]

the RS225/RS28 should be very good, but be aware of what the crossover may cost you.

this may be a very good design, with the best quality/price drivers you can find easily in europe :Lonesaguaro XG12

theses two drivers are recognized to have outstanding value. If you want deep bass, convert the closed box in to a bass reflex enclosure, that can be done pretty easily.

theses can be found on this site for very interresting prices, along with XO components. With the XO components included you will have for 195 euros + 20 euros approximately fo shipping, wich makes 215 wich is a very good price for so high quality speakers.

[KennyBradley]

Thanks for all the replys guys.

I've got even more to consider now.

After having a second look at the RS225/RS28 I think it's a little more than I want to spend, although I'm tempted by the veritas I think it's also a little too expensive.

So that leaves me with the Lyra, Seas L18 / Seas 27TBFCG, XG12 Sealed Monitor and something from IPL accoustics.

Anybody have any more opinions on these, I'd be especally interested to see some opinions or reviews on the IPL accoustics options.

I must admit I'm still tempted by the RS150MTM.

Thanks again, Kenny